Methods and systems for automatic image stitching failure recovery

1. A method comprising: detecting, by an image stitching recovery system associated with an image stitching system, a failed attempt by the image stitching system to generate a first panoramic image in a target location image set, the target location image set including a plurality of panoramic images each depicting a target location from a different respective locus point at the target location; identifying, by the image stitching recovery system in response to the detecting of the image stitching failure, a particular locus point at which a second panoramic image within the target location image set has been successfully generated; identifying, by the image stitching recovery system, a first set of control points based upon which the first panoramic image is to be successfully generated, the identifying of the first set of control points based on a second set of control points that were used by the image stitching system to successfully generate the second panoramic image at the particular locus point; and directing, by the image stitching recovery system, the image stitching system to generate, based on the first set of control points, the first panoramic image in the target location image set.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: autonomously determining, by the image stitching recovery system, that each image segment of an image segment set used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image satisfies a predetermined image quality threshold; and wherein the directing of the image stitching system to generate the first panoramic image comprises automatically directing, in response to the autonomous determining that each image segment of the image segment set satisfies the predetermined image quality threshold, the image stitching system to reattempt to generate the first panoramic image based on the image segment set previously used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated; and the identifying of the first set of control points based on the second set of control points comprises: assigning, to each of the control points in the second set of control points, a respective confidence value representative of a likelihood that the control point will be compatible with a set of control points that leads to a successful generation of the first panoramic image, and filtering the second set of control points based on the respective confidence values assigned to each of the control points by maintaining within the second set of control points a plurality of control points assigned to have respective confidence values that satisfy a predetermined confidence threshold, and removing from the second set of control points a plurality of control points assigned to have respective confidence values that fail to satisfy the predetermined confidence threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying of the first set of control points is further based on a third set of control points that were used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated; and the identifying of the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that the particular locus point is in close spatial proximity to the first locus point.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated; and the identifying of the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that image segments used to successfully generate the second panoramic image depicting the target location from the particular locus point were captured in close temporal proximity to image segments used in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image depicting the target location from the first locus point.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying, by the image stitching recovery system in response to the detecting of the image stitching failure, an additional particular locus point at which a third panoramic image within the target location image set has been successfully generated; wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from both the particular locus point and the additional particular locus point, the identifying of the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that the particular locus point is in close spatial proximity to the first locus point, and the identifying of the additional particular locus point at which the third panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that image segments used to successfully generate the third panoramic image depicting the target location from the additional particular locus point were captured in close temporal proximity to image segments used in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image depicting the target location from the first locus point.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: detecting, by the image stitching recovery system in response to the directing, that the generation of the first panoramic image based on the first set of control points represents an additional failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image; and providing, by the image stitching recovery system in response to the detecting that the generation of the first panoramic image represents the additional failed attempt, an alert that indicates to a user that the additional failed attempt has occurred.

9. An image stitching recovery system comprising: a memory storing instructions; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to: detect a failed attempt by an image stitching system to generate a first panoramic image in a target location image set, the target location image set including a plurality of panoramic images each depicting a target location from a different respective locus point at the target location, identify, in response to the detecting of the image stitching failure, a particular locus point at which a second panoramic image within the target location image set has been successfully generated, identify a first set of control points based upon which the first panoramic image is to be successfully generated, the identifying of the first set of control points based on a second set of control points that were used by the image stitching system to successfully generate the second panoramic image at the particular locus point, and direct the image stitching system to generate, based on the first set of control points, the first panoramic image in the target location image set.

10. The image stitching recovery system of claim 9 , wherein: the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to autonomously determine that each image segment of an image segment set used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image satisfies a predetermined image quality threshold; and the directing of the image stitching system to generate the first panoramic image comprises automatically directing, in response to the autonomous determining that each image segment of the image segment set satisfies the predetermined image quality threshold, the image stitching system to reattempt to generate the first panoramic image based on the image segment set used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image.

11. The image stitching recovery system of claim 9 , wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated; and the identifying of the first set of control points based on the second set of control points comprises: assigning, to each of the control points in the second set of control points, a respective confidence value representative of a likelihood that the control point will be compatible with a set of control points that leads to a successful generation of the first panoramic image, and filtering the second set of control points based on the respective confidence values assigned to each of the control points by maintaining within the second set of control points a plurality of control points assigned to have respective confidence values that satisfy a predetermined confidence threshold, and removing from the second set of control points a plurality of control points assigned to have respective confidence values that fail to satisfy the predetermined confidence threshold.

12. The image stitching recovery system of claim 9 , wherein the identifying of the first set of control points is further based on a third set of control points that were used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image.

13. The image stitching recovery system of claim 9 , wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated; and the identifying of the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that the particular locus point is in close spatial proximity to the first locus point.

14. The image stitching recovery system of claim 9 , wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated; and the identifying of the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that image segments used to successfully generate the second panoramic image depicting the target location from the particular locus point were captured in close temporal proximity to image segments used in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image depicting the target location from the first locus point.

15. The image stitching recovery system of claim 9 , wherein: the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to identify, in response to the detecting of the image stitching failure, an additional particular locus point at which a third panoramic image within the target location image set has been successfully generated; the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from both the particular locus point and the additional particular locus point; the identifying of the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that the particular locus point is in close spatial proximity to the first locus point; and the identifying of the additional particular locus point at which the third panoramic image has been successfully generated comprises determining that image segments used to successfully generate the third panoramic image depicting the target location from the additional particular locus point were captured in close temporal proximity to image segments used in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image depicting the target location from the first locus point.

16. The image stitching recovery system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to: detect, in response to the directing, that the generation of the first panoramic image based on the first set of control points represents an additional failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image; and provide, in response to the detecting that the generation of the first panoramic image represents the additional failed attempt, an alert that indicates to a user that the additional failed attempt has occurred.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, direct a processor of an image stitching recovery system to: detect a failed attempt by an image stitching system to generate a first panoramic image in a target location image set, the target location image set including a plurality of panoramic images each depicting a target location from a different respective locus point at the target location; identify, in response to the detecting of the image stitching failure, a particular locus point at which a second panoramic image within the target location image set has been successfully generated; identify a first set of control points based upon which the first panoramic image is to be successfully generated, the identifying of the first set of control points based on a second set of control points that were used by the image stitching system to successfully generate the second panoramic image at the particular locus point; and direct the image stitching system to generate, based on the first set of control points, the first panoramic image in the target location image set.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein: the instructions further direct the processor to autonomously determine that each image segment of an image segment set used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image satisfies a predetermined image quality threshold; and the directing of the image stitching system to generate the first panoramic image comprises automatically directing, in response to the autonomous determining that each image segment of the image segment set satisfies the predetermined image quality threshold, the image stitching system to reattempt to generate the first panoramic image based on the image segment set used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein: the first panoramic image depicts the target location from a first locus point that is different from the particular locus point at which the second panoramic image has been successfully generated; and the identifying of the first set of control points based on the second set of control points comprises: assigning, to each of the control points in the second set of control points, a respective confidence value representative of a likelihood that the control point will be compatible with a set of control points that leads to a successful generation of the first panoramic image, and filtering the second set of control points based on the respective confidence values assigned to each of the control points by maintaining within the second set of control points a plurality of control points assigned to have respective confidence values that satisfy a predetermined confidence threshold, and removing from the second set of control points a plurality of control points assigned to have respective confidence values that fail to satisfy the predetermined confidence threshold.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the identifying of the first set of control points is further based on a third set of control points that were used by the image stitching system in the failed attempt to generate the first panoramic image.